1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to electrical resistance components, and more particularly to an electrical resistance component of the type conventionally used for termination of a data bus cable.
2. Description of Related Art
It is well known to use resistance elements for the purpose of terminating a data bus cable. The use of resistance elements at the termination of the data bus line prevents reflection of energy back up the line by providing a load impedance which matches the characteristic impedance of the line, thus permitting transmission of high frequencies with a minimum of loss. Conventionally, such termination resistances are formed from resistor chips bonded to wires of the cable by direct soldering of the wires to slots in the chips. The wires are prepared by stripping the cables and pre-tinning the wires to form leads suitable for supporting the resistor chips.
Such conventional cable termination arrangements are subject, however, to axial misalignment of the stack of resistor chips, and to separation of the cables and leads from the chips. Although numerous different arrangements are presently used for stacking and aligning resistance elements in contexts other than cable termination, none has proved completely satisfactory in the specific context of cable termination.
Furthermore, in addition to the problems of misalignment and lack of mechanical integrity, conventional stacked termination resistance components often lack shielding and environmental sealing arrangements suitable for use in the context of data bus termination. Current packaging arrangements have tended to be both unwieldy and excessively costly to manufacture.